violette

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, 2007!  We're enjoying our first winter storm today, very windy and icy outside, so we're staying in all day and making paper hearts.

our house

The renovation on our house has finally begun!  We got our building permit and digging and demolition has started.  It is very exciting.  Follow along with the progress in Flickr!.  Matt finished taking down the front stoop this weekend and discovered some pretty bad carpenter ant damage to a beam. It didn't surprise us too much, in this 63 year old cottage. He is going to replace beam himself.  I suspect we will discover more damage as we progress with the renovation.

little ballerina

Violette went to her first dance class this afternoon.  It was half ballet and half tap, with a shoe change in the middle.  She is always dancing around the house and loves to dress up in costumes, so I thought that dance class would be a wonderful outlet for her.  This morning, however, she gave me so much grief -- crying "I don't want to go to dance class" over and over again.  Sheeeesh... I was getting pretty fed up with all the whining, and after dropping her off at daycare, I worried about how she would react once we got her to the dance academy and I wondered if we would make it there at all. 

I picked her up early from school and we drove home to get her costumed up.  There was still some whining, but not as intense as earlier (thankfully). When we got to the studio, I actually had to carry her from the car and up the stairs.  Luckily we managed to arrive early and had a little one-on-one time with the instructor (who is wonderful!).  A few more girls showed up, and when class started they all went off with the instructor, with the mommies (and a couple of dads) sitting in the waiting room, peering through the windows.  Vi held my neck for the first couple of minutes, and then - after seeing how much fun it actually was - she joined in and had a fantastic time.  And, I must admit, she is a natural.  She does so well with instruction, and she loves to imitate. It literally warmed my heart to watch her, and the three other little girls in varying shades of pink.  And then it hit me, she is really growing up, and I'm really enjoying it.  I think I was a little nervous today for myself, as well as for her.  How would I do in this situation, and how would I do if she didn't react well, and how will the other parents react.  I know, I think too much... but hey, I've never done this before either.  Vi and I, we're learning together -- and maybe (just maybe) we'll get some things figured out before her little sister arrives in December.

what's been happenin'

Summer is a busy, busy time.  Don't let people tell you otherwise.  I always expect Summer to be like it was when I was a kid: lazing around, getting a tan, riding my bicycle, playing with friends. But things change when you're all grown up, and working.  So, what's been happening in our world in the past couple of months?  We celebrated a couple of birthdays, mine and Violette's.  Our little girl is now four years old. Wow.  Hard to believe.  We had friends from Kansas visit us, we had Babcia come for a week to watch Violette while her daycare provider took a vacation.  We took a (too short) trip to Maine, and we just bought a canoe.  Hopefully we will find time to use it before Summer ends.

And, I'm am playing around with the design and content of the blog a bit.  I've been thinking about this for awhile.  You may have noticed the new photos link (top right) to Flickr.  I am going to phase out the photo albums.  Flickr is so much easier to use.   I'm also thinking of renaming this blog, since soon there will be an addition to our family, it won't be "all about Violette" any more.  And, most importantly, I will try to post more.  Really, I will try.  Really.

new stuff

Yes, it's been nearly a month since I've posted anything.  I've been seriously slacking on my blogging duties.  We were in WI for a week visiting friends and family, and we had a wonderful time and enjoyed gorgeous weather. An uncle and cousin from Sweden were also staying with Mom & Dad, adding to a pleasantly crowded house. And lucky little Violette got to play with many, many kids.  It really made us realize how much she would enjoy a sibling, someone to play with and help take care of.... so... we decided it was high time we obliged her.  We are expecting kid #2 -- which means I'll either have to create a new blog or rename this one.  Violette is very excited to be a big sister and I think she'll be a pretty good one.

I put up photos of our trip as well as some other recent photos on Flickr.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

The other day Violette and I came home to a few packages on our stoop.  I had ordered some things for her daddy's birthday, and she was so excited to open up the boxes.  I told her that Daddy's birthday isn't for a few days, so we'll hide the the presents until his actual birthday.  So.... the first thing she says when he walks in the door, "Daddy!  We got presents for your birthday and they are under the bed!"  Clearly, three-year-olds are not good at keeping secrets (especially about birthdays!).  Happy Cinco de Mayo, babe.

happy easter!

It is Easter today and we are celebrating in our own way.  We colored eggs, and Vi searched for hidden candy and other goodies, and we had a very nice Easter breakfast.  And what a relief that Spring (weather wise) is finally here and our flowers and trees and bushes are starting to come alive and brighten our yard. 

family fun

I finally got myself a laptop computer.  I've been wanting one for years, and I finally broke down - right before I went to DC - and went to Best Buy and picked one up. I guess I was waiting for some kind of justification, and I now have it: Violette is computer literate (well, for a 3-1/2 year old, anyway), and is taking over our desktop. Yes, it appears to be true, we are a family of computer geeks -- not the hard core kind -- but the "I love my computer" and the "I can't live without the internet" kind.  On any given evening now, Violette is on the desktop playing a computer game (Dora, or Dr. Suess, or something on Noggin.com) or watching a dvd, Matt is doing work on his laptop (he's busy designing an addition to our house), and I'm writing /working on my laptop.  Maybe it is a little sick, but hey, our computers make us happy -- and I'm especially happy because we also (finally) got wireless.  Oh, the rapture...

dc

I went to Washington last week, for a conference.  All by myself.  It is nice to get away and be alone, on my own time.  This feeling of freedom is so rare after becoming a mother, and it still isn't "total freedom" because you're calling home, wondering what they are doing, and probably worrying, just a little, because that's what mothers do.  However, it is truly beneficial to all when mommies get away and leave daddies in charge. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear Violette cry for Daddy -- "I want Daddy!" That's partnership.  When we can both function, fairly normally, when the other one is away.  And for the child to not distinguish between mommy roles and daddy roles.  Circumstances require that I end up with more of the "parenting work," but I am so grateful to have a husband who knows that it isn't just my job, but his job as well.

concert

Violette went to her first (not free) concert on Sunday.  She and her friend Will (and us parents) went to see Dan Zanes.  It was pretty fun, with music even the adults can enjoy and sing along too!  Vi and Will ran around like a couple of crazy three-year-olds before the show as they got reacquainted with each other after many months apart. It didn't take them long to catch up. They even got autographs from Dan afterwards. Such groupies... today Dan Zanes, tomorrow Motley Crue...?

kitty love

Ripley used to run from Violette. But lately she has had a change of heart. She now sleeps at the foot of Violette's bed, she allows Violette to carry her, brush her, cover her in blankets, and use her as a pillow. She even sits on the edge of the tub when Violette takes a bath -- for real! What a fantastic cat we have.  And, oh yes, a pretty great kid, too.

And, we were up in Toronto a few weeks ago for Babcia's birthday. Violette helped to blow out the candles.

death

Our daycare provider's mother died a few days ago, in Iran. Violette (in her wise three years) is not a stranger to death. Her own Dziadzia (grandfather) died a little over a year ago, and her best friend's grandpa died a few months ago. We talk to her about death, occasionally, and although she cannot completely comprehend it, she knows that she will not see that person / animal / plant again. And she knows that all living things will die.

Unlike Violette's previous daycare situation -- a center with many classrooms and teachers -- this is a home-based daycare. In the Center, if one of the teachers had a death in the family, or a similar tragedy, she would take time off of work, stay home and grieve or recover in private. Not so in Violette's current daycare situation. We have become first-hand witnesses to the grief and the shock of losing a loved one -- someone we've never met. It is a strange feeling, being so close to such personal tragedy and yet being so removed from it. We love our daycare provider, and her home is a wonderfully safe place, and she has two very capable teachers working for her, and she has family that helps out as well. But it still feels a bit like we are intruding into her most private affairs. I just want to tell her to go -- rest, escape, grieve. But then again, she is taking care of my daughter, and taking care of her business, which she cannot just shut down for a few days or a few weeks. I am in awe of how demanding her job is, and her amazing ability to cope in the midst of such public chaos. And then I think about the children -- running around, laughing at nothing in particular, oblivious and seemingly immune to life's tragedies, unknowingly rescuing us from the depths of despair and self-pity.